Informative Speech

Have you ever seen Star Wars? Have you ever seen E.T.?  Have you ever seen Alien or Interstellar? If so, then you have seen the widespread influence of Stanley Kubrick, specifically through his grand, sci-fi, special effects pioneering epic 2001: A Space Odyssey (Murthi). Kubrick was a filmmaker, both a director and a screenwriter of some of the most famous and influential films of all time. From the terrifyingly humorous “Here’s Johnny” moment in The Shining, to the drill sergeant barking orders at marines in Full Metal Jacket, to the “I’m Spartacus, No I’m Spartacus” scene in Spartacus, Kubrick’s films have been quoted and parodied a countless number of times in pop culture movies and hit TV shows. But who was this man behind the camera who created such influential works of cinema?

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Born on July 26, 1928, in New York City, Kubrick grew up in the Bronx. As a kid, his first passion in life was becoming a jazz drummer. It was not until his father bought him a camera as a teenager did a glimpse of the legendary director he would come to be shine through. Kubrick delved deep into the depths of photography,  fascinated by the stories he was able to capture through pictures, whether it was the busy travel of strangers on the sidewalk or the construction sites of skyscrapers in the city. With his newfound passion for photography, Kubrick was hired by Look magazine, providing photos for over 135 stories. It was during his time at Look that he stumbled upon his life’s passion: filmmaking. Kubrick’s job often required him to visit the sets of films being made in the area. He was so inspired by the process of creating these films that he began to work on his own, a short called Day of the Fight, about a boxer in New York. He quit his job by the time the film was released in the cinema and never looked back, immediately beginning to work on his next project, a full-length feature film, the first of many in his career (“Stanley Kubrick's Teenage”). 

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Many film directors came from backgrounds in photography, so why did Kubrick stand out from the rest? Actor and star of Kubrick’s film Barry Lyndon, Ryan O’Neal, once said in an interview that “the toughest part of Stanley's day was finding the right first shot. Once he did that, other shots fell into place. But he agonized over that first one.” Kubrick was a perfectionist and although he famously denied the label, he absolutely fits the definition of one. Kubrick filmed every shot of his films in such a way that any still frame from A Clockwork Orange, 2001, The Shining, or Barry Lyndon could be hung on an empty wall or used as a computer wallpaper (“Stanley Kubrick's Teenage”). Perfectionism comes at a cost, however, as Kubrick was notorious for the number of takes he would shoot during the filming of his movies. In fact, one scene from The Shining is the Guinness World Records holder for the most retakes of a single scene with dialogue in film history with an astonishing 148 takes (“Most Retakes”).

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Kubrick’s uniqueness is also derived from the distinctive narratives and themes placed throughout his movies. Tony Pipilo, a Professor of Film and Literature at the New York College of Technology writes that “If there is a constant thematic line in all his films, this is it. War, the literal subject of five of his films,” and “the operative metaphor for those about family life and society.” Kubrick’s films were often adaptations of books that did not exactly have the most pure or lighthearted subject matter. From the criminal Alex DeLarge to the insane Jack Torrance, the main characters in Kubrick’s movies were often not ones an audience would root for. As author Michel Chion writes, “his protagonists are ‘perverted, monstrous, or mad, in relation to whom we don’t know how to position ourselves.” A viewer does not sympathize or emotionally connect with the personalities on the screen; instead, you watch what's being depicted as an outsider, only adding to the uniqueness of Kubrick’s filmography (Pipolo).

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In 1971, when director William Friedkin won an Oscar for Best Director, he said, “I think Stanley Kubrick is the best American filmmaker of the year. In fact, not just this year, but the best-period.” From a jazz drummer from the Bronx to who some call the greatest director of all time, Kubrick’s legacy is still maintained by some of the greatest directors alive today. Steven Speilberg, the director of Jaws, E.T., and Indiana Jones, once said in an interview that “Nobody could shoot a movie better than Kubrick in all of film history.” When Kubrick passed away in 1999, he had made just thirteen films, most of which are considered masterpieces to this day (Pipolo).